


The Eighth Night

by TransBoyFanBoy



Series: Those Nights [10]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, College, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Graduation, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Intimacy, cgxl, dxlb, part of a series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:49:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24393808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransBoyFanBoy/pseuds/TransBoyFanBoy
Summary: Graduation has come, and it's time for Jackson and Nathan to adjust to college life.The adjustment is harder for some than others.
Relationships: Jackson Brewer & Julian Brewer, Jackson Brewer & Noah Brewer, Jackson Brewer/Nathan Hall, Original Male Character & Original Male Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Those Nights [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/766590
Kudos: 20





	The Eighth Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I know it's been a very long time, and I apologize for that. I really don't have much inspiration for these characters anymore, sadly. I'm really not a fan of this chapter (at least the first half), but I figured I owed you guys an update after almost five months without an update. So, here's an extra long chapter for you! I hope you enjoy.

Jackson’s POV:

“Jackson, you aren’t even moving out until the end of the summer. Why on Earth are you already packing up your stuff?” Mom sighed exasperatedly as she peered at the row of boxes lining my closet floor.

“I just want to be prepared, mom. The more I pack now, the less I have to pack later.” 

For my part, I thought I deserved a pat on the back for my quick thinking. The thing was, I hadn’t even begun to start thinking about packing up for college yet; it was just that Nathan and I and accrued quite the collection of regression supplies for me over the past couple of months, and it had gotten to the point where there wasn’t really another place to put it. So, we had taken to storing the supplies in my closet until we moved off to our dorms in August. Admittedly, maybe we were hasty in our decision to stockpile a bunch of gear, but we were excited to finally have a place more or less to ourselves!

“Well, just make sure you leave out the stuff you’re going to need, alright? It’s going to be a hassle if you pack your things too early, then lose track of something when you need it.” Mom sighed again for good measure. “And Jackson, how many times have I told you to start getting ready? You have to be at the venue in less than an hour!” I chuckled at mom’s apparent agitatedness. 

“Alright, alright, I’m doing it now. Calm down, mom; you’re gonna throw yourself into a fit.” 

I stood and ushered mom out of the room after she set the cap and gown on my bed. Shutting the door before she could say anything else, I made my way over to the restroom and turned on the shower. Once it was an acceptable temperature, I hopped in and went to town with a loofah and my body wash. As an afterthought, I decided to wash my greasy hair; it would be tucked into my graduation cap, but I figured I should still try to make it look and smell nice if other people were going to be forced to stand by me for pictures. 

Soon, I turned off the showerhead and stepped out onto the bath mat. I took a moment to savor the lingering warmth from the steam in the air, but it quickly became uncomfortably sticky, so I opened the door to air out the restroom. After drying myself with a towel, I blew my hair dry and went back out to my bedroom, where my suit was folded neatly on my desk. 

I dressed myself swiftly in the slacks and button-up shirt, and I only barely struggled to tie my tie and settle it into place. I was uncomfortable with how tight the collar was around my neck, but as I glanced in the mirror, I had to admit that I cleaned up nicely. A few more moments passed as I admired myself in the mirror, before I realized that I had to leave in ten minutes if I wanted to make it to the venue in time for graduation rehearsal. 

“Shit.” I grumbled as I moved over to where my cap and gown were situated on the bed. I picked up the gown by the hanger and grabbed the cap once the gown was settled over my shoulder. 

On my way out of the room, I stopped to stuff my phone, wallet, and keys in my pockets. Then, I stepped out and closed the door behind me. 

Downstairs, mom and dad were preparing breakfast for Julian and Noah. They smiled as they took in my polished appearance. I groaned as mom snapped a few quick photos on her phone. She walked my way with a protein bar and a plastic lunch bag. 

“You look so handsome, honey!” She walked me out the front door after a few goodbyes from dad, Jules, and Noah, then led me over to my car (which we had bought soon after Julian and Noah had both gone off to college and taken the shared car). I fished the keys out of my pocket to unlock the car, and Mom helped me hang the cap and gown together in the backseat before shutting the door with a slam. She turned to me with tears in her eyes and passed over the protein bar and packed lunch. 

“Have a good day, Jackson. We’ll be at the venue at 4:00 this evening to get seats close to the stage, alright?”

“Okay mom, that sounds good. I’ll see you soon.”

Mom sniffled and wiped away a few stray tears. She pulled me in for a tight hug, and I hugged her back, knowing she could use the comfort. 

“Mom, it’s not even time for the ceremony yet--save those tears for later!” Mom laughed lightly and pulled away. 

“Sorry, it’s just surreal that my last baby is all grown up. Soon you’ll be off to college and your father and I will be empty-nesters.” I laughed. 

“C’mon, mom, we all know Julian’s bound to move back home at some point.” I said sarcastically, and we shared a final moment of laughter before I decided I had to go. 

“I should probably get going so I’m not late.” 

“Yes, you probably should. Be safe, Jackson. Tell Nathan we’ll be cheering for him tonight, too.”

“Will do. Bye, mom.” As I said this, I made my way around the car to the driver’s side. I dropped into the driver’s seat carefully and took a moment to check that my hair was still styled to my liking. I made sure mom went inside before I started up the car and backed out of the driveway. 

On the way to the site, my phone rang over the bluetooth radio. Nathan’s number popped up on the screen in front of me, so I hurried to answer it. 

“Hello?” 

“Hey, Sweetheart, I’m just calling to make sure you haven't overslept or something.”

“Aww, were you worried about me? How sweet!” He huffed playfully into the speaker as I laughed.

“Of course I was, you dummy; I always worry about your well-being.” Nathan spoke sweetly, and his words made me blush lightly.

“Well, you don’t need to worry. I’m on my way there right now. I’m like five minutes away, in fact.”

“Okay, Jacks, I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“I love you too, Nath.” Nathan hung up the phone, and in less than five minutes, I was pulling into the designated parking lot. I parked next to my classmates, and I was glad to see that I wasn’t the only one arriving last minute. 

As I stepped out of the car and went towards the back to retrieve my lunch, my cap, and my gown, I spotted a figure running towards me. I squinted against the bright morning sun as the person came closer. It took me an embarrassingly long time to recognize that I was not about to be snatched by the person running towards me, and that in reality, it was just Nathan coming to take me inside. 

“Hey!” Nathan greeted breathlessly. “Need help with that stuff?” I nodded thankfully and let Nathan carry my sack lunch inside. I made sure that my gown was wrinkle-free as I pulled it out from the backseat and locked my car door. 

As we casually walked towards the entrance, I looked over and noticed Nathan’s attire. He was fully dressed apart from his graduation cap, which would likely have blown away with the wind. He looked unbearably handsome with his wind-blown hair. 

“Hey, look out!” Nathan pulled me into his side as I narrowly avoided walking directly into a metal pole. He stared at me with concern, then smiled and planted a chaste kiss to my lips. 

“I love you so much, you goof.” He chuckled. 

“I love you too, handsome.” His cheeks tinted pink at the compliment, but I didn’t point it out no matter how much I wanted to. 

Nathan held open the door to the venue for me, and I returned the favor with the inner set of doors. 

“So,” I began, “Where are we going?” He led me through the building quickly, then stopped in front of a large pair of wood doors. 

“This is the auditorium. Everyone’s in there right now getting ready to do a practice ceremony so we don’t embarrass ourselves in front of everyone we know. You might want to get your cap and gown on before we go in.” 

I pulled the gown off of the hanger and slipped it on effortlessly, enjoying how loose and comfortable it was. 

“Could you help me put my cap on in a way that still makes me look hot?” I asked Nathan, who smirked. 

“You always look hot to me, so I may not be the best person to ask.” I hit him lightly on the arm. 

“Come on, Nath. Pleeaasssee?” I begged annoyingly. He took a long moment as he jokingly considered. 

“Ugh, fine, I suppose I can help.” He gently took the cap from my hand and settled it on my head, tucking my hair loose into it and adjusting it. 

“Alright, you’re all set. You ready to go in?” I nodded my head happily, then pushed open the heavy doors to the auditorium. 

The two of us made our way towards the stage after stopping to let Nathan pick up his cap and put it on. Our classmates were gathered along the side wall in alphabetical order, waiting for our teachers to give us instructions. Nathan and I got into our spots in line, then texted each other on our phones to kill time. 

Shortly, our principal called our attention, and we all put away our devices to listen. She gave us the directions for the graduation ceremony proceedings, then told us that we were going to run through the process a few times before we were released for lunch. 

For the most part, we rehearsed without issue, excluding a few slip-ups on the first go-around. As we practiced, it began to set in that Nathan and I were graduating and moving on with our lives later that day. It didn’t feel real at the time, because it just seemed like our senior class was getting together to hang out. It was surprisingly laidback. However, I was beginning to realize that this was a momentous occasion. I turned to look at Nathan at one point, and he met my gaze with an excited, reassuring smile. I found comfort in that smile, as I had for so long. It was hard to believe that I had spent nearly two years with Nathan. Time had flown since we had met on the first day of junior year, and I felt so incredibly lucky to have such a supportive, loving man to call mine.

I turned back to the front as my name was called for the final rehearsal. I walked up the stairs and across the stage expertly, taking the fake diploma from the announcer’s hands and heading off the stage on the other side. I watched for a while as the rest of my classmates we called, and finally, it was over. They released us for lunch, then told us we’d have the next few hours before the ceremony began to finish getting ourselves ready and presentable. 

Nathan and I sat on the floor next to each other, leaning against the wall as we ate. He showed me funny videos that he had saved to his phone, and I challenged him to multiple thumb wars when we had free hands. He won most of the time, and I’m pretty sure that the times I won were because he let me, but I didn’t let that stop me from cockily trash talking him every time. Since we were already dressed and ready for the ceremony, we generally spent the next few hours just enjoying one another’s company. 

“So, are you excited that your parents are coming tonight?” I asked Nathan gently. His parents had been working even more than usual lately, and I knew that it was taking a toll on Nathan no matter how much he assured me that he was used to it. So, when he told me they were planning to take the night off and see us graduate, I was ecstatic. I knew it would be good for him to spend some time with them. 

“Yeah, it’s going to be great! Mom and dad said that they made reservations for us at some fancy restaurant since they figured it would be packed everywhere else after the ceremony. They reserved a table for 8.”

“What? But it’s just the three of you, right?” I asked confusedly. 

“Well, yeah--but there are five of you guys.” He smiled as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Wait, you mean your parents want my family to come?” 

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. We want you to come to dinner with us--if you want to, that is. They’ve just only really met your parents and brothers a couple of times over the past two years, and they wanted to meet up again before we go off to college in the fall.” 

“Of course I’d like to go. I’ll have to make sure that mom and dad didn’t make other plans first, but I think they’ll be excited. Are you sure that you don’t want the night to yourselves, though? I know that you don’t get to spend much time with your parents.” He sent me a sweet grin and pulled me into his chest. 

“I’m sure, Love. I want you there. And besides, if my parents want to spend more time with me, they could take off a few days in the summer. You’re not intruding, if that’s what you’re worried about. You’re my partner, and my parents love you almost as much as I do.” Nathan pressed a kiss to the top of my head, and I grinned at him. 

“Okay, I’ll call my parents.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Jackson? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” Mom asked frantically as she answered the phone. 

“Yes, mom, everything’s fine. Nathan told me that his parents reserved a table for 8 at some fancy restaurant tonight, if we didn’t have any plans for after the ceremony.” 

“Oh, that’s all? Of course we’ll go; it’ll be nice to see Nathan’s parents after so long! If that’s all you needed, then I’m going to get off of here: your brothers decided to cook something for lunch and just about set the kitchen on fire.” I cackled as I imagined my brothers failing to cook again. 

“Alright, mom, you go handle that. Love you, bye.” I hung up and turned to Nathan. He gave me a hopeful thumbs up, and I nodded in the affirmative. 

“Yeah, we’ll go. Mom had to get off the phone, though, because Jules and Noah were failing to cook again.” He shook his head in amusement. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The time had finally come. Parents began filing in as they opened the auditorium doors. Meanwhile, the seniors huddled backstage and anxiously awaited the start of the ceremony. There was excited chatter all around as we listened for our parents and families.

Before too long, the principal was gathering us up again to lead us to our seats. We formed an alphabetical line once again as we walked out from behind the curtains and to the chairs lined up along the back of the stage. Row by row, we took our seats for the start of the ceremony. 

I glanced behind me, searching for Nathan. Sadly, I saw that he was a few rows behind me on the stage, as his last name began with an ‘H’. As the nerves set in, I regretted not being born to the Hammot family. I could have really used a hug. 

Before long, the buzz of the families and graduates silenced, and the ceremony began. Frankly, it took way too long for the introductions to be done, and when they finally called for the graduates to stand and make their way offstage for the graduation walks, I felt like half the crowd was bored to sleep. We made our way out of the room through a set of side doors, which led to a long hallway and a doorway to what had to be the auditorium we’d just left. They told us to wait patiently as our names were called, and I don’t know about the rest of my classmates, but I was feeling anything but patient by that point. 

My anxiety spiked as we got to the ‘B’ names much sooner than expected. Before I knew it, there were only three people ahead of me, and I chanced a glance back at Nathan one final time, seeking comfort. When he met my gaze, he seemed to notice the tension in my shoulders. Silently, he sent me a thumbs up and a gentle smile. I smiled back dramatically as I turned back to the front. 

When they called my name all too soon, I made my way out into the auditorium on shaky legs. I walked along the wall as we had practiced, but this time I leaned against it for support. I slowly ambled up the stairs and across the stage, stopping in the middle to shake hands and take my diploma. My family cheered loudly, and as I sauntered off the stage, I caught sight of them. Julian and Noah pumped their fists in the air as they hollered, and mom and dad clapped loudly. 

Although I wanted to stop and give them a huge hug, I had to keep moving and follow the principal’s rules. So, I once again left the auditorium and went back to the hall where the rest of my classmates were waiting to be called up. I sat right across from Nathan on the opposite wall and prayed that his phone was on silent as I sent him a text. 

_**You:** You got this, Nath! So proud of you!_

I watched as he pulled his phone from his pocket and read the text. He smiled up at me and subtly blew a kiss in my direction. I snorted slightly at the gesture, and one of the teachers that was supervising was quick to throw me a glare. I held up my hands in surrender and sheepishly turned back to look at Nathan, who was struggling to contain his laughter behind his hands. 

The line moved up further, and I moved with it, scooting my ass along the carpet so that I could continue to silently reassure him. Finally, it was his turn to walk. 

“You go, Glen Coco!” I whispered to him, and he gave me a final thumbs up in response. 

Because this was a big deal and I didn’t want to miss it, I peeked my head around the corner to watch him walk across the stage. As he made his way towards the stairs, I turned towards the notoriously cool teacher next to me. 

“You think I’d get in trouble for cheering for him?” 

“Eh, what’re they gonna do? You’ve already graduated.” With that, I began shouting and hollering as he walked across the stage. My family, and I’m sure Nathan’s parents, joined me, and Nathan smiled brightly as he accepted his diploma. When he was off the stage, I ran as quietly as possible to the other end of the hall, where I knew Nathan would be walking through a few moments later. 

As soon as he rounded the corner and spotted me, I pulled him into a tight, relieved hug. 

“We did it, Nathan! We are officially adults in the real world now.” We stayed like that until the old teacher who had scolded me earlier came over and separated us. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------

After the ceremony finished, we all met in the front of the building. I greeted Nathan’s parents, and they did the same with my family. The parents insisted on taking pictures before leaving for dinner, so we all huddled together and smiled for the camera. Many tears were shed, not only by our parents, but surprisingly by my brothers and I, too. 

“Listen, Jackson, Noah and I are so proud of you. And just because you’re going to be going off to college with Nathan in a few months, that doesn’t mean that we won’t be there for you. You know that if you ever need us, you can call and we’ll come running. And don’t think that a little distance will keep us from kicking some serious tail, because I know how horrible people can be, and if you need me to beat someone up I won’t hesit--”

“Jules! Shut up, I think he gets it.” Noah stepped in, placing a hand over Julian’s mouth to shut him up. 

“Thanks, guys. I love you both.” They pulled me into a group hug that lasted an uncomfortable amount of time, and which was only broken by Nathan clearing his throat and speaking up. 

“Hey, so our reservations are at like 7:30, so we’ve only got about half an hour to get there. We should probably head out.” 

Everyone agreed, and we made our way out to the parking lot. Thankfully, Nathan and Julian offered to drive my car so that I could ride with Nathan, and we all set off towards the restaurant. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Honey, Nathan’s here! Are you all packed?” I heard mom shout up the stairs, and I sighed in relief as I taped up the final box of dorm items.

“Yeah, just send him up! I’m ready to go!” Moments later, Nathan walked through the doorway and took a seat on my bed. He looked dishevelled in his sweatpants and paint-stained t-shirt. That, along with his messy bedhead and the light bags around his eyes told me that he hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before.

“Hey, handsome.” I said with a smirk. He turned to me with a grumpy pout.

“Oh, leave me alone. I was up all night packing up my room.” His pout deepened as I laughed lightly at him. 

“Nath, I would say I feel bad for you, but I warned you months in advance to start packing early to avoid this exact problem.” He scoffed, but had the decency to look at least somewhat scolded.

“Well, you know me; procrastinator numero uno over here.” I stood from my kneeling position on the ground to give him a hug. 

“I know, so I can’t be too upset. It just means you’re going to sleep well tonight, huh?” He nodded his head into my shoulder, then pulled me down into his lap for a quick cuddle. 

I allowed this for a few minutes, but when it became clear that he had no intentions of letting go any time soon, I patted his shoulder and pushed him away gently. His eyes were bleary with sleep as I pulled back from him and stood up.

“Come on, don’t fall asleep on me now. We’ve got to get these boxes packed into the cars. Do we need to make a stop at your house to pack your boxes?” He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. 

“No, mom, dad, and I already loaded all of my stuff into our cars. They said they would meet us on campus, but they wanted to get a headstart.” Groaning, he stood from my bed again and looked at me for directions. 

“Mom said she was making breakfast before we started packing up the cars.” At that, he perked up a bit and held out his hand for me. 

“Well then, let’s go get some food, Sweetheart.” I giggled airily and took his hand, letting him lead us out of my room and down to the kitchen.

… 

Breakfast was an understatement for what my mom prepared. When we had arrived in the kitchen, we were met by what was closer to a feast than a light snack. Bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, waffles, cereal, and multiple juice options lined the counters; needless to say, everyone dug in with abandon. By the end of breakfast, Julian had syrup all over his face, and all of us were leaning back in our chairs to adjust our waistbands. 

“Thank you for the food, Carrie. It was delicious.” Nathan complimented my mom politely. 

“Yeah, it was great, mom! Thank you.” Julian, Noah, dad, and myself spoke up afterwards, making mom smile. 

“It was no problem. Now, finish getting dressed if you haven’t,” She stated, looking pointedly at Noah and Jules. “We have two young men to send off to college.” 

Before she could get too emotional, we all stood from the table and went on our ways. Nathan and I ran up the stairs to my room again. 

As we were gathering boxes, Noah and Julian walked into my room, now fully-dressed. 

“So, what do you want us to take?”

“Well, we were planning on taking age regression boxes down to the cars first, so that your mom and dad don’t accidentally drop one of them and spill the contents all over.” My brothers nodded dutifully at Nathan’s words, and once we pointed them towards the correct boxes, we made our way down the stairs once again and out to the cars. 

We put some of the boxes in whatever space remained in Nathan’s car, then placed the rest of them in the trunk of my own vehicle. With those out of the way, we made our way back up to grab the next round of boxes. Mom and dad met us upstairs this time, and with the six of us working together, we got all of the boxes stuffed into the cars in around twenty minutes. Then, we each loaded into our respective vehicles and headed onto the road, college-bound. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

When we arrived on campus, I led the way to where my and Nathan’s dorms were. By some miracle, we had not only scored single-person rooms (which was incredibly rare as freshmen), but somehow we had been placed right next door to one another, with a shared bathroom. When we had taken a campus tour after finding out our dorm assignments, we had thanked our lucky stars that we had been assigned so closely together. Now, as we parked and unloaded our cars, I couldn’t help but be grateful that our dorms were also only on the second floor. While the view out the windows would be lacking, I considered the fact that we wouldn’t have to walk up eight flights of stairs a huge win. Now, the elevator wasn’t broken, but the line to use it was almost out the door, so we figured we’d take our chances with the stairs.

By the time we had taken the first two loads of boxes up to our rooms, I was feeling extra grateful for the dorm placement. I didn’t even want to imagine what the students on the top floor had to go through without access to the elevator. That being said, I was already worn out, and I was not looking forward to unpacking everything. 

Another couple of hours later found us finally having taken all of Nathan and I’s boxes to our dorms. By the time we were finished unpacking everything--we had sent our parents out to pick up lunch for everyone just so that we could get them out of the room long enough for us to unpack my regression supplies--it was nearing four in the afternoon. Everyone was sweaty and exhausted, and as I looked around the lounge area where we had come to rest afterwards, there were some people who looked as though they would keel over with a slight gust of wind. 

Nathan’s parents had suggested dinner at one of the local restaurants, and no one disagreed. After the day they’d had, everyone could have used a break. For my part, I felt like I was liable to fall asleep on the way to the restaurant. After gathering the strength to go downstairs again, we packed ourselves into two cars; Julian, Noah, Nathan, and myself in one car, and the parents in another. 

On the way there, Noah and Julian bickered back and forth like they did when we were kids, while Nathan and I leaned on one another to rest a bit before dinner. I was just beginning to doze off when Noah called from the front seat that we were pulling into the restaurant’s parking lot. I groaned and lifted my head, but noticed that Nathan was sleeping soundly against me. I shook his shoulders tenderly and whispered for him to wake up, and he let out a somewhat pitiful whine as he opened his eyes and took in our surroundings. 

“Damn, we’re already here?” I nodded, rubbing his back as he woke up properly. 

“Sadly, we are. Let’s go inside before you fall asleep again, okay?” He begrudgingly agreed and followed me into the restaurant. 

We held hands as we were walked to a table by our waitress. She was a slightly older woman, and she cracked jokes as we ordered our food. Despite her obvious attempts to joke around with us, which I would normally enjoy, I was too tired to play along. Soon, we all ordered our meals, and as we waited for everything to be cooked, we chatted idly about our plans for once college began. 

Honestly, I had no idea what I wanted to be. I considered becoming a veterinarian at one point, but then I realized that I would never be able to handle the surgeries. For the same reason, becoming a doctor was out. So, I declared political science as my major; I was always interested in government, after all, and with a political science degree, I had a wide range of career options available to me. I was sure that I would find my calling down the road. 

As we chattered and ate, I couldn’t help but worry about how much college would change things in my life. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

Nathan’s POV:

It had been three weeks since college classes had begun, and Jackson was having real trouble adjusting to our new normal. He was homesick, and he honestly wasn’t used to having this large of a workload--not to mention, the newfound freedom was hard to adjust to.

I wasn’t faring as badly as Jackson seemed to be, likely because I was used to having freedom and being away from my family for extended periods of time, but I did feel helpless as I watched him struggle through the days. His classes were not what he was expecting, as he’d told me after the first week, and there was already a test coming up in his Intro to Political Sciences course that he was stressing over. 

Of course, I tried to help him study, but there wasn’t much I could do other than quizzing him using the flashcards he had made. Considering I didn’t have more than a baseline level of knowledge about the inner workings of government, I couldn’t be of much help to him. So, I did what I could do: I tried to help him relax. 

I had been setting up Skype calls with Jackson’s family about three times a week, and they seemed to be working. However, they were only a temporary fix. Once we were off the phone, and he realized that he couldn’t just leave his room and go downstairs to see his brothers and parents, he was back to being upset. I’d hold him while he cried during those moments, and I’d comfort him the best way I knew how. I tried to talk him down when he was emotional like that, but before long I realized that it’s just something you have to wait out and push through. He was adjusting--we both were--and the only way to get used to it is to keep pushing forward. 

I’d also tried to sway him into regressing, but despite my valiant efforts, Jackson had been stuck in his adult mindset since classes began. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to regress, I don’t think. No, it was obvious that he needed it, and that he wished he could, but there was something blocking him. So, I kept trying. As subtly as possible, I continued trying to lull him closer to regressing, with minimal success. 

Until one particularly stressful day, that is. 

As I sat in my bed one afternoon, recopying notes and studying what I’d written in class earlier that day, I heard a door slam in the next room. I sat still for a few moments, waiting to see if there would be anything else, but after a few moments, I decided to get back to my notes. I wrote for about five more minutes before I heard a quiet wail, then a louder shriek. 

I jumped out of my skin at a sudden sob from next door, and I hopped out of bed and walked through the shared bathroom to Jackson’s room. When I walked in, I saw a heartbreaking sight; Jackson was laying facedown on his bed, whimpering and crying into his comforter while clutching a crumpled up piece of paper. 

“Jacks? Oh, Baby, come here.” I whispered in my most calming voice as I sat on the edge of his bed. He jumped slightly, as if just noticing my presence in the room, but he rolled over to face me and peeked his face out from where it was buried in the blankets under him. 

“Hi, Love.” I opened my arms for him to crawl into, and with a sniffle, he did so. He straddled my lap and slung his arms around my shoulders as he continued to cry. I rocked him back and forth and patted his back, but I didn’t make him speak until he had calmed down considerably. 

Once he was reduced to sniffles and shaky breaths, I leaned back a bit to try and meet his eyes. 

“There you go, Love. Now, wanna tell me what got you so upset?” He shook his head, but then pointed to where the wrinkled piece of paper laid next to us on the bed. I picked it up, careful not to jostle him too much, then flattened the paper out so that I could read it. I frowned at what I saw, and he whimpered again as I read it. 

He’d failed his government test. 

Normally, this wouldn’t be such a huge deal, but for Jackson, it was. In high school, he had never failed a test. He’d always been an overachieving student, according to teachers, and he hated getting poor grades. On top of that, I’m sure it was disheartening to fail the first test you’d taken in college, especially one that you’d studied so hard for. I could understand why he was so upset. 

“Aw, Jacks, I’m sorry. I know how much you studied for that test. What happened, hmm?”

“I-I got in there, and the questions weren’t like anything I’d ever seen before. They were m-mostly essay questions, and I didn’t understand them… then I ran out of time and didn’t get to answer some of the questions.” My heart sank in sympathy for my beloved partner. “Maybe I’m just not cut out for college.” He whined, wiping his nose on his sleeve. I cringed a bit, but allowed it considering how distressed he was. 

“Love, of course you’re cut out for college. This is just all new, okay? You’re still getting into the swing of things, and it’s going to take some time. Failing one test doesn’t mean you can’t be successful here. Do you understand that, Jackson?” He nodded slightly, and I gave him a smile as I brushed his hair from his messy face. 

“I understand…” 

“Good boy.” Jackson wiggled in my arms at the praise, and I became hopeful that maybe this was the time to offer some “small” time for the two of them. “Now, if you’re up for it, I heard the student lounge has some pretty good hot chocolate. What do you say we go get you some hot coco, bring it back here, transfer it into a bottle, and have a relaxing evening, hm? Do you want Dada to take care of you tonight?” 

Jackson pulled his face back again to look in my eyes. Then, he nodded almost imperceptibly. 

“‘Kay, Dada.” I beamed at the response, so happy to finally get to see my baby again. 

I held Jackson for a few minutes longer, then lifted him off of my lap and onto his feet in front of me. I fixed his hair a bit with my fingers, as it had gotten messy when Jackson had cried into his blanket, then stood with him. He smiled up at me and held out his hand for me to take. Instead, I held out one finger for him to latch onto. It was a small gesture, but I knew that it would make him feel smaller. Plus, I doubted that anyone we walked past in the halls would give it a second glance. Jackson grabbed onto my finger, wrapping his whole fist around it, and followed me out into the hall. 

In the student lounge, I quickly and efficiently prepared two large cups of hot chocolate. My baby whined to himself when I had to let go of his hand, but when he remembered that he was about to get hot chocolate, he seemed to lighten up some. Soon, I’d finished making the cups of hot chocolate, and I put some whipped cream and mini-marshmallows into them. I knew they’d melt by the time we got back to the dorm and transferred Jackson’s into his bottle, but I felt that it would enhance the flavor nonetheless. 

When we got back to his dorm, I motioned for Jacky to sit on the bed as I grabbed a bottle out of his closet. He didn’t, though, and in fact he seemed to scoot closer to me. 

“Aww, is someone feeling extra clingy and small this evening?” To that, he just whined and hid his face in my shirt. 

“Okay, my clingy Monkey, Dada will work around you.” I walked him through to our shared bathroom so that I could pour the drink into the bottle over the sink without making a mess of the room. Once settled in front of the counter, I slowly and carefully poured the hot chocolate into his bottle for him, thankful that the mini-marshmallows had fully melted rather than becoming gooey in the bottle. 

“Alright, my baby, we gotta wait for your bottle to cool down just a bit so that you don’t burn your tongue, and then I’ll feed you. While we wait, would you like to pick a movie to stream on the laptop?” 

“Yes, Dada!” With that, he finally scurried away from me and into my own dorm, where we kept my laptop. We could have used his, of course, but mine was slightly bigger and had higher audio/video quality considering that it was necessary for my cinematography major. 

I logged into my Netflix account and went to the profile we’d dedicated to Jackson’s regressed time. He picked out a show, rather than a movie, to watch, and I settled him down onto my bed after setting my cup of hot chocolate and his bottle onto the bedside table. He’d told me one night before classes had started--when he’d been in a between headspace--that he preferred my bed over his own, because it was warm and it smelled like me. After that night, I’d given him an extra blanket that I slept with so that he could have warmth and the comfort of my smell when he needed it, but he still told me he preferred laying in my bed. 

As we settled down, watching the big, red dog run around on screen with his owner, I decided to test the temperature of the hot chocolate. I took a sip from my cup and found that it was much cooler than when we’d first gotten them, so I reached over and grabbed his bottle next. I held the nipple of the bottle to Jacky’s lips as he watched the show, and he latched on distractedly. However, once he tasted the first drops of hot chocolate, he paused and turned to me with a happy smile behind the bottle. 

“Is it good, Angel?” He nodded enthusiastically before turning back to his show, and I briefly remembered that I’d have to change him into some pajamas and fetch his pacifier and stuffed toy once he’d finished his drink. 

The baby drank his bottle slowly, snuggled back into my chest as he watched a couple of episodes of his show. Eventually, he emptied the bottle, and he whined and pouted up at me when he realized there was nothing left. 

“Shhh, Angel, it’s alright. I think that means it’s time for Dada to change his baby into his jammies, don’t you think?” Jackson pouted at the prospect of pausing his show, but he nodded with me. 

“Mhm, jammies time.” He giggled cutely behind the thumb that he’d worked into his mouth shortly after finishing his bottle. 

“Nuh uh, Sweetheart, let’s not suck on our fingers tonight, hmm? We’ll get your paci instead.” I nudged his hand out of his mouth as we crossed back into Jackson’s dorm. 

Knowing that Jackson was feeling extra clingy tonight, I tried to be quick as I broke away from him to grab out his pajamas. I laid him down on his bed with a blanket under him as I got him undressed. He wiggled around a bit, restless, as I placed a diaper under him and taped it up, then put on the onesie I’d picked from his collection of them. Throughout the change, I distracted him by humming and asking him questions like, “What color is that picture, hmm? Blue? That’s right; such a smart boy!” He giggled in response each time, sticking his fingers in his mouth again at some point. I sighed at that and removed his fingers once more, replacing it with an extra pacifier from his nightstand. Then, I handed him his favorite stuffed toy.

He hummed behind the shield of the pacifier and suckled on it contently. Then, he reached his hands out to me, one still clutching his toy, communicating that he wanted me to pick him up. With a bit of effort, I pulled him into my arms and placed him on my hip. He rested his head in my neck, and I rubbed his back as I made my way back to my dorm. 

Somewhere along the line, Jacky ended up dozing off in my arms. Once we had settled ourselves back in my bed, he had refused to let go of me, so I’d let him cling to me and peek his head out to watch his show. Not long after that, I’d looked down to see that he’d fallen asleep in my arms and was drooling a bit on my shoulder. I chuckled quietly at that, then paused the episode we were on. I tried to lay Jackson down as gently as possible on my bed, so that I wouldn’t jostle him or wake him up. Fortunately, I managed to get him laid down comfortably and sneak off of the bed. 

Silently, I walked over to my stash of snacks and food, pulling out a few things for us to eat. I knew that Jackson liked Kid Cuisine meals when he was feeling small, so I grabbed one of those for him and a ramen noodle pack for myself; however, I also knew that I’d have to leave the room to heat it up. I was hesitant to leave him alone in his delicate mindset, but I was not about to let him skip dinner. So, I opened the door quietly, checked that he was still sleeping, and left the room to go prepare our dinners. 

… 

When I approached my dorm room, freshly heated meals in hand, I heard muffled cries coming from the other side of the door. My eyes widened, and I turned the doorknob quickly to let myself in. There, I saw my baby whimpering and sobbing on the bed. I put down the food I’d made and rushed to his side, pulling him into my lap. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Angel, Dada’s right here! No need to cry, Lovely.”

“You left me ‘lone! Thought you weren’t comin’ back!” He wailed accusingly, obviously hurt.

“No, Angel, Dada would never leave for good! I was just making us dinner while you napped, Jacky. You’re Dada’s best boy, Baby; I’d never leave you.” 

Jackson’s voice shook as he wiped his tears away. I bounced him in my lap in the hopes of getting him to calm down. 

“Promise you won’t leave, Dada?” 

“Pinky promise, Lovely.” I held out my pinky, and he locked his into mine. I wiped his face of any remaining tears, then tried to perk him up a bit. 

“Would you like to see what I brought you for dinner now?” Jackson nodded silently, but held onto me to make sure I would take him with me. I laughed slightly and hefted him up. 

When he saw the Kid Cuisine, his mood improved greatly. He reached for the tray with one hand, and I let him hold it while I grabbed my own food. In order to not make a mess of the bed, I set a blanket on the floor and set us both down on it, deciding to eat there. 

“Thank you for my food, Dada.” 

“You’re very welcome, Jacky. Thank you for using your manners.” Jacky just hummed, digging into his food messily. By the time I was finished with my noodles, I saw that Jackson had gotten through about half of his before becoming distracted by the design on the blanket we sat on. So, I grabbed a nugget from his tray and dipped it into the ketchup, holding it up for Jackson to take. 

“Jacky~ c’mon, Angel, let Dada feed you the rest of your dinner.” He looked away from the blanket distractedly, but took a bit from the chicken nugget I held up for him. 

He pointed at the blanket after finishing the nugget, and he looked at me imploringly. I glanced to where he was pointing and noticed the cute cow design on the blanket. 

“I see that, Baby Boy. It’s a very pretty cow, isn’t it?” He giggled and nodded, then let me feed him the rest of his food. His face was a little messy by the end, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it would have been had he fed himself his entire meal. 

To clean him off, I grabbed a wet wipe from one of the cabinets in the bathroom, and I chuckled when he whined at the cold. 

“I know, being small is so hard, isn’t it? Well, we’re all done now--you’re all clean!” He giggled at the tone in my voice and nodded.

“Clean!” 

By this time, the sun had set in the sky, and as I took him back out to my dorm, I looked out the window to see the dark sky lit up by stars. I glanced at the clock: 8:30 pm. 

“Well, I think we have time for one more episode of your show before bedtime, wouldn’t you say?” He nodded his head tiredly. “Before that, though, I think someone needs a change, don’t you?” He flushed slightly, but nodded again and rubbed his eyes. 

I laid him back on the blanket on the floor this time, then told him I needed to go get his diapering supplies. He shook his head at the thought of me leaving, but I promised him I’d be back in less than a minute. Sure enough, I ran to his dorm, grabbed a fresh diaper and his changing supplies, then rushed back all in the span of thirty seconds. He smiled at seeing me come back, and I kneeled down in front of him on the floor. 

“Alright, just a quick change and then we can finish your show,” Jackson babbled to himself during the change, and soon he was settled snugly into a new diaper and his onesie was rebuttoned. 

I lifted Jackson from the floor and laid him in the bed one last time, pressing play on the show as I cleared away the trash from dinner and the used diaper. When I got back, the baby was mesmerized by the colors on the screen, and despite his sleepiness, he giggled along as the characters went on their adventures. 

I flopped down into bed behind Jacky as he finished the episode, and when it was over, I had to tell him that it was bedtime. He frowned up at me and gave me puppy dog eyes, but I fixed him with a stern look to settle him down. 

“It’s bedtime for babies. You’ve had a big day, and I can tell you’re tired.” As I said this, I turned off my laptop and set it on my large nightstand. After a few more moments of upset grumbling, Jackson agreed and closed his eyes, pulling his stuffed puppy into his arms to sleep. 

I ran my fingers through Jacky’s hair soothingly as I lulled him to sleep, and before long, I heard tell-tale, quiet snores coming from him. As I closed my own eyes in preparation for sleep, I couldn’t help but feel grateful that he’d finally regressed, even if it wasn’t under the best circumstances. 

Though it had been a rough few weeks, as I held Jackson in my arms, I was sure that we were going to be just fine in college.


End file.
